Miami Stacked with All-America Candidates
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| Damien Berry is one of only eight players nationally and seven running backs to record four straight games with 100 yards rushing. The Belle Glade native and three others share the distinction of having the longest active streak among FBS players. Berry will look to extend his streak to five games at Virginia on Saturday, which would tie it for the longest streak in NCAA FBS in 2010. * The senior running back is one of only four players at Miami since 1975 – NFL & UM stars Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee are the others – to rush for 100 yards in four straight games. * Berry is second in the ACC in rushing yards and is in the midst of six straight games with at least 100 all-purpose yards. His lone game without 100 all-purpose yards was a blowout win over FAMU. * Berry has 648 yards, 423 in the last four games, and is well on his way to a 1,000-yard season. He would join the short list of just six other Miami greats that have rushed for 1,000 yards in a season. |
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| Orlando Franklin is the senior leader of the Miami offensive line that leads the ACC with just four sacks allowed in conference play. * Franklin has played 490 snaps and allowed just one sack to the opposing defender this season. * Over those 490 snaps, Franklin has graded out at 96 percent, collected 43 pancake blocks and nine lumberjack blocks. His single game percentage high was 97 percent against UNC and his single game pancake high was 10 against Clemson. * Franklin’s grade of 96 percent is all the more impressive when you consider that he played offensive guard, primarily, for the first three years of his career. |
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| Leonard Hankerson is the ACC’s most consistent and productive receiver with eight touchdowns, 38 receptions and 591 yards. He is also the only receiver among the league leaders in scoring at 6.9 points per game. * Nationally, Hankerson has the fifth-highest TD total (8) and ranks 10th in points per game (6.9) among receivers. The Fort Lauderdale native’s reception-to-touchdown ratio of 1-to-4.75 is also the seventh-best among the NCAA leaders in TD receptions. * Hankerson is on the heels of Miami legend Michael Irvin, who set the school TD catches record at 11 in 1986. The other legendary names that he is approaching are Andre Johnson (10 in 2001, 9 in 2002), Reggie Wayne (10 in 2000), Lamar Thomas (10 in 1992) and Eddie Brown (9 in 1984). * Hankerson has caught a TD pass in every Miami game this season exept two – Ohio State and Florida State, which happen to be the `Canes only two losses. He had 12 catches and a combined 162 in those two games. |
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| Brandon Harris is not a popular target for opposing quarterbacks. He has blanketed his opposing wide receivers so well that team have only thrown in his direction 18 times over seven games (2.57 times per game) * Harris has locked down his end of the field with such effectiveness that his other secondary mates are capitalizing on mistakes in rapid fashion. In fact, Miami’s other defensive backs – Vaughn Telemaque (3), Ryan Hill (3), Ray Ray Armstrong (2) and Demarcus Van Dyke (2) – would rank 20th as a group nationally with their 10 combined interceptions. * Harris has one interception on the season and it came against North Carolina’s T.J. Yates, who entered the game with the nation’s second lowest interception ratio. * While teams refuse to pass in his direction, they should also stay away from him in the run game. Miami’s defense has been successful on in stopping the opponent on fourth down on 3-of-5 occasions this season. The two biggest stops, which both essentially sealed Hurricane victories… were turned in by Harris, who recorded a solo tackle on Andre Ellington (Clemson) on 4th-and-1 with Miami leading 27-21 in the fourth quarter at Death Valley. Harris also broke up a pass on 4th-and-2 that stymied a North Carolina comeback with the `Canes leading 19-10 late in the third quarter. |
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| Sean Spence, the emotional and physical leader for the Hurricanes, leads the ACC’s top defense with 10 tackles for loss, 59 tackles and two forced fumbles. * Spence has recorded a tackle for loss in six of seven games and collected multiple TFL on four occasions. * Spence ranks fourth in the ACC in tackles, seventh in tackles for loss and fourth in forced fumbles * The Miami Northwestern HS product only needed seven games in 2010 to establish career highs in tackles, tackles for loss and forced fumbles. Both forced fumbles were momentum changing moments in wins over Clemson and UNC. |
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| * There may not be a hotter defender in college football than Miami safety Vaughn Telemaque. Telemaque has recorded five turnovers – two fumble recoveries and three interceptions – in UM’s last four games. * The sophomore from California is one of only five players nationally with at least two fumble recoveries and three interceptions. Telemaque and Casey Matthews (Oregon) are the only two BCS players with those numbers. * Telemaque has a streak of four straight games with a turnover. The only other player in FBS football with an active turnover streak of that nature is Domonic Cook at Buffalo, who has a combined total of five force fumbles and interceptions in the last four games. * Telemaque is one of the leaders of a Miami defense that leads the ACC in pass defense, total defense, turnovers gained, pass defense efficiency and ranks second in sacks. Nationally, Miami leads the country in pass efficiency defense and also ranks No. 2 in interceptions, No. 2 in sacks, No. 5 in turnovers gained and No. 6 in pass defense. |
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